This book and Kevin Henkes’ novel, sweeping up the heart, were the only two middle grade novels this year that made me break down and weep. And IThis book and Kevin Henkes’ novel, sweeping up the heart, were the only two middle grade novels this year that made me break down and weep. And I think they actually share a lot in common. Both very quiet, very short, relatively simple, and absolutely full of feeling. Beverly Right Here is a classic, it’s a book for both old and young, a book, along with the two companion novels in the trilogy, that will be read again and again down the generations.DiCamillo‘s skill with characterization is nothing short of amazing—How does she manage to make a silent, difficult, combative girl utterly compelling? Her touch is so light, so subtle, you’re not even sure how she is accomplishing so much. ...more
Never has there been an author with a keener eye for the breathtaking beauty, comedy, and pathos of Florida's nature and human beings. CROSS CREEK isNever has there been an author with a keener eye for the breathtaking beauty, comedy, and pathos of Florida's nature and human beings. CROSS CREEK is a revelation for anyone who values the natural world--Rawlings captures with gusto the intricacies of insect behavior; the varied, sprawling patterns of river life; and the close-knit, hilarious, baffling culture of rural Florida in the 1930s. I suffered waves of nostalgia reading this--because though there may still be small pockets here and there, the world Rawlings describes is almost entirely gone (and good riddance to some of it--particularly the specific brand of central Florida racism and poverty). Rawlings was entirely fearless (witness an entire chapter on snakes); passionate (the all-night fire vigils to save her orange groves from a hard freeze) and brilliant (whether writing about bear hunting or camp cooking) --how a woman could live alone in such a time and place is mind-boggling. I could barely stand for this book to end; I found myself deliberately slowing down in the final chapters, but I know I will carry her powerful voice in my head for a long, long time. ...more
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